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Daily Business Report — Feb. 10, 2011

Thomas Jefferson School of Law Obtains Student Housing

Entrada Apartments

Thomas Jefferson School of Law has secured a 15-year master lease with Security Properties Inc. for the Entrada Apartments in Downtown San Diego to provide housing for students beginning in this year’s spring term. The 172-unit apartment building is located at 453 13th St., a few blocks away from the law school’s new high-rise at 1155 Island Ave. Security Properties is based in Seattle and is one of the largest multifamily real estate owners in the U.S. It purchased the apartment building for $22 million in July 2010.

The 159,000-square-foot Entrada Apartments was built in 2004 and has a mix of studio, loft, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments. It has a newly renovated rooftop common area, an interior courtyard, fitness center and underground parking.

M. Elizabeth Kransberger, associate dean of student affairs at Thomas Jefferson, said the lease of the building enhances the school’s ability to recruit the highest quality student body. “We are thrilled to have been able to partner with Security Properties to provide such a high-quality housing option for our students engaged in heavy law studies,” said Kransberger.

“Not only does Entrada Apartments support the law school’s ability to attract and grow its student body, but it also provides tenant stability and predictable cash flow for the project’s ownership and investors,” said John Orehek, president and CEO of Security Properties

The law school opened its new Downtown campus in January and has a current enrollment of 950 students and 200 faculty and staff. It plans to expand its student body to more than 1,000 in the coming year. It was previously located in Old Town. La Jolla Capital Partners broker Steve Chiles represented the Thomas Jefferson School of Law and Security Properties represented itself in the Entrada Apartments lease transaction.

United Way Exhibit Spotlights People Who Overcame Homelessness

Today will mark the start of an unusual photo exhibit in Downtown San Diego that will show images and stories of San Diegans who have successfully ended their homelessness and are living in permanent homes and receiving support services. The Home Again exhibit is sponsored by United Way of San Diego County as part of its 90th anniversary. It will be on display outside at NBC Plaza at 225 Broadway, across from Horton Plaza, through Feb. 28.

“The Home Again campaign’s goal is to encourage San Diegans to ‘Learn more. Spread the word. Open a door,’ which is exactly what this exhibit helps accomplish,” said Doug Sawyer, United Way’s president and CEO. “We are sharing the real faces, lives and stories of those that have been aided by United Way-funded programming, demonstrating that there is a solution to chronic homelessness — and it works.”

The exhibit features photos of formerly homeless individuals framed in doorways, representing their new homes and lives. Each doorway features the person’s story and additional facts about San Diego’s homeless population, such as that 23 percent of the city’s homeless are military veterans. The eight doorways are part of an artistic interpretation of a neighborhood, with statistics that tell the story of the chronically homeless superimposed on the ground. For example, over 400 chronically homeless people will be supported by United Way-funded programming this year, and 2,800 have received homeless prevention services since June 2009.

The formerly homeless San Diegans featured were photographed by Gary Payne.

Small Business Fair Set for Feb. 16

A free small business fair will be held Feb. 16 in Carlsbad to assist new business owners, entrepreneurs considering starting a business and owners who have questions about state and federal tax laws. The seminar is sponsored by Michelle Steel, vice chair of the state Board of Equalization and Assemblyman Martin Garrick. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Ruby G. Schulman Auditorium of the Carlsbad City Library, 1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad. Presentations also will include Avoiding Common Sales and Use Tax Problems, Better Business through Better Records, State Income Tax and Small Business, Small Business Resources and Updates for 2011, and Social Media Marketing. Attendees can register by calling (888) 847-9652.

Ann Moore Joins Board of Port Commissioners

Ann Moore

Ann Moore, a senior partner in the Norton Moore & Adams law firm, has been sworn in as the city of Chula Vista representative on the Board of Port Commissioners. Moore was appointed by the Chula Vista City Council and will serve as secretary of the Board of Port Commissioners. Commissioner Lou Smith, who represents the city of Coronado, was sworn in as vice chairman of the board. Moore served as the city attorney for Chula Vista from 1995 to 2008 before joining Norton Moore & Adams. She has more than 20 years of experience practicing law.

Chamber Names Vice President of Public Policy

Paul Webster has been named vice president of public policy for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. Webster has nearly 10 years of experience with the U.S. House of Representatives developing legislative priorities, acting as chief liaison, monitoring issues and overseeing constituent communication for various members of Congress. Webster’s job will be overseeing the chamber’s public policy planning and advocacy, developing and maintaining working relationships with elected officials, managing the chamber’s volunteer-driven committee structure and implementing strategies to address public policy issues. His career has included acting as district director and campaign manager for state Sen. Mark Wyland (R-Carlsbad), and most recently he managed a number of campaigns in North San Diego County during the 2010 elections through his consulting practice. Webster holds a communications degree from California State University, Long Beach and a master’s in public administration from the University of Southern California.

Ron Donoho Takes Magazine Editorial Position

Ron Donoho has joined McKinnon Publishing as editor of its subsidiary, San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles Magazine. Donoho was most recently chief editorial officer at the Web-based SanDiego.com. He was executive editor of San Diego Magazine for 12 years. Donoho is a graduate of Loyola College of Baltimore. He joins other editors Paine Johnson, Peter Jensen, Dirk Sutro, Wayne Carlson and Tom Shess.

The Business & Entrepreneur Center and the Small Business Development Center at MiraCosta College will offer free upcoming workshops to help businesses succeed. The workshops will be held at Vista City Hall, 200 Civic Center Drive, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the following dates:

March 1: Increase Sales Using Social Media: Learn how to incorporate social networking into a business.

April 5: Financing Options for Businesses: Direct lenders and the SBA will discuss financing options for a business.

May 3: Ways to Market A Business: Learn to identify the “right” customer for a business and easy ways to market your business to them.

June 7: Marketing A Business Using Google Tools: Learn how to use Google tools such as ad words, ad sense, Google trends and more.

Bring a lunch to the workshops. Drinks will be provided.

The Daily Business Report is produced by REP Publishing Inc., publisher of SD METRO, the North Park News, Kensington News and the West Coast Craftsman. (619) 906-4104.

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Voice Your Opinion

We Want Your Opinions on San Diego’s Big Issues
In the coming months, Probosky Research (one of California’s leading opinion research firms) will continue its partnership with SD METRO to survey San Diego residents about topics of interest to our readers. We’d like to throw open the door for suggestions for topics. What do you want to know? What do you think you know, but aren’t sure? What are you certain you know, but want to prove it beyond doubt? Ideally, we’d like to see questions that have to do with public policy.
Some areas may include Mayor Filner’s first 100 days job performance, should the city be responsible for economic growth and the creation of new jobs, how important are infrastructure improvements to our daily lives (streets and bridges, etc.), how important is water independence, how satisfied are residents with public transit or how do city residents value Balboa Park and other open spaces? Do you believe the City Council should revive the Plaza de Panama plan for Balboa Park?
You can email Probolsky Research directly with your ideas: info@probolskyresearch.com